How to Write 彩 (cǎi) — Meaning “color / prize”

Imagine a hand (扌) picking colorful fruits from a tree (木) – that is 采 – and then three colorful strokes (彡) falling down like rainbow stripes. So 彩 is 'picking colors' – the top part is 'pick' and the bottom three lines are the 'colors'.

Pay attention to the top part 采: the left side is 爫 (a claw-like hand) and the right is 木 (tree), not 米. The bottom radical 彡 has three short slanted strokes, all parallel and evenly spaced. A common mistake is making the bottom strokes too long or uneven – they should be slightly shorter than the top part.

彩 has the radical 彡 (three strokes) at the bottom, while 㣎 (rare, meaning 'fine hair') also has 彡 but a different top. 彦 (yàn, a man of virtue) has 产 on top and 彡 on bottom, but the top is completely different – 产 means 'produce', not 'pick'. The meanings are unrelated: 彩 is about color/prizes, 彦 is about a learned person.

彩 appears in common words like 彩色 (color), 彩虹 (rainbow), and 精彩 (wonderful). It is also used for lottery prizes, as in 彩票 (cǎipiào, lottery ticket). Culturally, 彩 symbolizes good fortune and celebration – when you win a prize, you 'get color' (得彩), meaning you receive a colorful reward.

Common words containing 彩 include: 彩色 (cǎi sè) — color / multi-colored; 彩虹 (cǎi hóng) — rainbow; 精彩 (jīng cǎi) — Wonderful; brilliant; splendid..